XATA Corp., Minneapolis, Minn., reported net sales of $11.4 million for the 2003 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2003, compared to $13.2 million in fiscal 2002.

The company recorded a net loss of $3.8 million, or $0.55 per share, for the 2003 fiscal year compared to a net loss of $4.1 million, or $0.60 per share, for the 2002 fiscal year.
XATA is a long-time provider of onboard systems, operational software and mobile communications, largely to the private fleet sector. It is also one of few publicly owned trucking technology companies -- including many of its competitors -- whose financial results are made public.
In its release XATA noted that results showed improvement as the economy picked up later in the year. The company said net sales of $3.6 million in its fourth fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, 2003, compared to $2.8 million in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2002. The company reported a net loss of $548,000, or $0.08 per share on a basic and diluted basis, for the fourth fiscal quarter and versus a net loss of $1.1 million, or $0.16 per share on a basic and diluted basis, for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2002.
“The rebound in net sales in our fourth fiscal quarter, when compared with both our third quarter of this year and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002, was encouraging,” reported Craig Fawcett, XATA president and chief executive officer. “This is consistent with the increased market activity we have experienced in our primary target markets –- the trucking operations of large manufacturing, retailing, petroleum and distribution companies. These markets continue to be impacted by rising costs in labor, fuel and insurance. Our solutions enable our customers to better control such costs through maximizing fleet utilization.”